The Dancing We Don't See
by RagamuffinSundrop
Summary: On his first night aboard the TARDIS Jack is offered two 'dances' from the Doctor and Rose. Instead he leads them into a new form of 'dancing' with assistance from an unlikely source. Now Complete
1. Goodnight And Thank You

The Dancing We Don't See

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who any rights or properties thereof

**_Chapter One: Good Night And Thank You_**

Jack Harkness's first night aboard the TARDIS is something of a surprise. He's not surprised when he walks into his bedroom to find her waiting for him. He'd watched Rose's eyes while they danced on top of his ship and knew enough to know he could have had her, so easily. Far easier than she would have believed. He's not surprised she looks nervous and uncertain. Of course she would be, after The Doctor's very obvious alpha male hands off display out there she's bound to be a little tense. He's not even surprised that when he sits next to her she flinches away and refuses to look him in the eyes. Coming here to him couldn't have been easy on her. What does surprise him is her words.

Without looking at him she offers him a trade of sorts. Flirt with the Doctor; Rose invites him. Flirt if you both enjoy it but Jack don't hurt him. Don't make him love you and then leave him. Rose tells him that under the Doctor's shell he is really very vulnerable and far more damaged than he'll ever think he allows to be seen by others. The trade comes into play when she offers Jack herself. She acknowledges that she is very attracted to Jack, and doesn't miss his smile when she tells him this. She also acknowledges that she would very much enjoy shagging Jack. He nods an even bigger smile this time. Don't hurt the Doctor and I'll be yours, Rose tells him. This time she looks him in the eyes to make sure her meaning isn't misunderstood.

"Would you do this if you weren't attracted to me?" Jack feels the question must be asked. Maybe this is some weird sort of couple's game for them. Jack has heard of and participated in even stranger ones than this. The two deny they are a couple but Jack has eyes. He has watched the two of them. If they aren't a couple it's only because they refuse to realize it. If this is a game, he doesn't mind playing along he just wants to know the rules.

He isn't prepared for Rose's answer. She tells him yes, she would be here even if he made her skin crawl. When he asks her why, she stares at him and says in a whisper. "He's worth everything to me." Jack can see that she means exactly what she says. To her, the Doctor is worth the body she's willing to trade so cheaply along with her self-respect and self esteem. If she hated Jack she would still be here to keep her Doctor safe. She loves him that much. This is what floors Jack. She loves the Doctor enough to allow herself to be used in a very intimate way if it keeps him from getting hurt. Jack doesn't ever remember seeing a love that powerful before. It awes him and breaks his heart a little. No one has ever loved him like that. His heart breaks more when he asks Rose how the Doctor feels about her and Rose quietly assures him that The Doctor would never love a stupid ape. Then she finishes by telling him it doesn't matter. She never expected the Doctor's love in return.

Jack starts to tell her he isn't going to take her up on her offer and panic crosses her features. Seeing that she has the wrong idea he continues quickly. He won't do more than flirt with the Doctor, Jack assures her. If the Doctor ever indicates he wishes for more Jack will proceed as cautiously as possible. He won't allow The Doctor's hearts to be broken by his actions. Rose smiles at him. The first real smile he has seen on her face since she was in the Doctor's arms dancing around the console room. When she kisses him softly. He doesn't try to make it more. He knows it is a kiss of gratitude. When she leaves him, he doesn't make the expected comment about how much nicer it would be to have her in his bed.

He should be surprised but isn't when his door is opened a few minutes later and the owner of Rose's heart is striding into his room. Jack almost says something about the lack of privacy aboard the TARDIS but realizes he may not like the answer he's given especially if it involves a forced removal to a planet that's atmosphere is not conducive to Jack's continued good health and existence. The Doctor gets straight to the point. Pinning Jack to the bed with his eyes he tells Jack how very young Rose truly is. Jack is about to argue that chronologically Rose isn't as young as she seems, but something in the Doctor's glare tells him it isn't the time for Captain Jack one-liners. He also realizes that the Doctor isn't talking about her chronological age he is talking about experience and in that Rose will always be far younger than Jack.

He wonders if the Doctor is going to make the same offer as Rose. He doesn't have long to wonder. The Doctor makes the same offer with a slight difference. Flirting with Rose, fine. Flirting with him, fantastic. Sex, if he really feels it's necessary come to the Doctor. Even suggesting sex with Rose, instant death. Jack would like to think that the Doctor's kidding about that last part. The Gallifreyan seems to be unwilling to take life. However when he looks into the Doctor's eyes and now they are very alien, Jack sees perfect truth. If he harms Rose in any way he might as well say what little prayers he can because the Doctor will kill him.

Because he is Jack and because he has to know; Jack asks the Doctor why such an offer is being made. Does the Doctor love Rose? The Doctor refuses to answer the question. He puts Jack off with the response that love has nothing to do with the matter at hand. The matter at hand involves only Jack not breaking Rose's heart. Knowing it might end in his death but finding he already liked Rose enough that it may not matter Jack asked again. This time he told the Doctor that yes the answer to his question mattered very much.

The Doctor's response isn't violent. It's soft and all the more terrifying. " I don't love her. I've altered time to make her smile. I've considered letting a world be destroyed to keep her safe. I'd allow Gallifrey to burn again to keep her with me. But I don't love her. Jack there is so much more to what I feel for Rose than simple love." the Doctor tells him.

There was that love again that he had seen so clearly in Rose. Jack can only hope that one day he will have someone he can love or who will love him like that. Knowing it has to be said Jack assures the Doctor he will never hurt Rose, he won't try to take her to his bed.

Jack sees that the Doctor wants to believe him, but says nothing more as he leaves. Jack knows now what he has to do, and sadly it isn't getting the two of them into his bed. Well, maybe someday he'll be lucky enough to have them there but not now. Now is the time to help them realize what the other is feeling. Now is the time to make them realize how deep their love is and hope that maybe they'll learn to love him.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

Jack was fairly sure he was on a short holiday to the land of insanity. He had tried for two weeks to put the Doctor and Rose together. It was kind of like walking a tight rope. If he didn't try hard enough nothing would go forward. If Jack tried too hard the Doctor or Rose might realize what he was doing. That could be very bad. Jack decided he liked the basic comforts of life tiny things like food, shelter, and air. He was afraid if he was found out he would soon be missing all three comforts starting with air and shelter. The Doctor kicking him off the TARDIS wouldn't be so bad if the possibility didn't include the Doctor beating him to the consistency of pizza dough for interfering where he wasn't wanted and _then_ just for fun throwing the pizza dough formerly known as Jack out of the TARDIS.

For two weeks Jack had suggested locations that could conceivably called romantic to visit. Once there, Jack has found numerous errands to run so that the Doctor and Rose could be alone. He has disappeared after dinner almost nightly and avoided watching movies with the two of them so they could be together. Nothing has worked. Jack doesn't understand this. He was Jack Harkness, flirt extraordinaire. He had skills others would pay a kings ransom to learn and had. He was trying his best techniques and it was all to no avail. He began to wonder if he was wrong about the two of them. Sure, Rose loved the Doctor and the Doctor loved Rose but maybe Jack had read the two of them wrong and what he saw wasn't romantic love. He didn't think he'd been wrong about this type of situation but he figured even he was entitled to being wrong once or twice a century and this was going to be one of those times. He just hoped his error in judgment never got around; he had a reputation to maintain.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

The TARDIS' POV

_I really wanted to hate him when our Rose insisted he join us. Jack Harkness, intergalactic conman and flirt extraordinaire. I wanted to hate him because I was afraid he'd come between my Theta and my Rose and I cannot allow anyone or anything to do that. My Theta and my Rose belong together and nothing is going to change that._

_I wanted to hate him until I heard the conversations on his first night here. The conman would never admit it I'm sure, but he has a heart of gold and the soul of a hero. He made it clear he has no desire to hurt either of my family. Jack doesn't know it yet but his actions are the only reason he was still here. Theta may think he's in charge and has a say in whether or not Jack stayed but if I hadn't wanted him here, nothing would have made him stay. Even if Theta wouldn't let me throw him out I would have tortured Jack until he was demanding to leave. _

_After watching him, it's become even clearer that he wants them together as much as I do. He's trying so hard and I'm proud of him but my pair of stupid apes, half ape in Theta's case, are two of the most stubborn and blind creatures I've ever encountered. Jack's ideas are good and I'm sure if he was dealing with anyone else they would work but my family is special and is going to need more than tips from the handbook of the universe's biggest flirt. I think I'll help him. I just hope he isn't so overconfident in his own abilities he refuses my help. I'd really hate to have to torture him until he sees things my way._

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

Jack was in the middle of a terrific dream. A dozen scantily clad men and women all willing to honor his every whim surrounded him. It was the kind of dream he didn't want to end which was why he was so annoyed when the voice woke him up.

_Jack, Jack wake up_. Jack heard the voice and tried to ignore and get his dream back. His barely clothed minions were waiting and he hated to disappoint them.

_Jack, Jack, wake up,_ the voice tried again. This time the tone was more than a little insistent and harder to ignore, almost.

"Go 'way, sleeping now." Jack muttered sinking deeper into his pillow and hoping the voice that was in his head and all around him would indeed take the hint and go away.He wasn't quite prepared for what happened next.

"JOHNATHAN BARROWMAN HARKNESS GET OUT OF THAT BED THIS INSTANT!" The voice filled his room like the crack of doom or the wraith of a vengeful room full of deities. As if the voice wasn't enough to wake him up and scare the next thirty years of life out of him, the voice had an encore for him. His bed started to shake and rock. Before he could figure out what was happening he was flying across the room and landing in a heap on the floor across the room.

Jack sat up with a groan. Voices yelling at him to get out of bed, voices that knew the name he hadn't been called in years, voices that could make things like his bed throw him across the room. He wished the Doctor had told him the TARDIS was haunted, he might have reconsidered coming aboard.

_Try again, pretty boy_, the voice suggested. This time it was back in his head and much softer than it had been moments before.

"TARDIS, is that you sweetheart?" Jack asked once his brain woke up enough for him to process what was happening.

_Nice to see you do have something in your head other than an overdose of hair gel, Biggles. Yes, it is the TARDIS, _the voice said. Yes, Jack realized it was definitely the TARDIS, nothing else or no one else would sound so much like the Doctor.

_Hey, he could sound like me, you stupid ape,_ the TARDIS pointed out. Jack just grinned.

"So not that I'm not flattered sweetheart, I am, but why are you talking to me?"

_  
I know what you've been doing, Jack._

Oh god, she'd seen _that,_ Jack thought to himself panicked. He was a fun guy; he didn't even mind audiences for most of his extracurricular activities. Hell, most of the time he encouraged audiences for his activities. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of the TARDIS watching him however, that was going to take some getting used to

_Don't be disgusting_, _Johnathan, I was not referring to that,_ the TARDIS snapped. He didn't miss the fact that once again she had used his given name instead of more congenial nickname Jack. _Don't piss off the TARDIS, I'm so making that my new motto_, Jack thought to himself.

_Good boy_, the TARDIS purred at him in approval.

Jack can't resist one last quip. "Yes, Mistress." The floor under his feet started to shake slightly, a warning. "I'll behave, now what are you talking about?"

_I know you are trying to get Rose and the Doctor together. _ It didn't surprise him. He figured she knew everything that happened here. _You're going about it the wrong way; your usual bag of tricks won't work with these two._ Jack wasn't sure he liked what he considered some galaxy class moves being called a bag of tricks.

_Shut it, Captain._ The order was immediate and he figured it would be best to obey. No telling what she'd do to him if she was really upset.

_I can help you, I will help, I wanted you to know your not doing this alone. _

"Great what are we doing?" Jack asked the TARDIS.

_You, Jack are going to be patient and let me plan_, the TARDIS told him. Jack gave her his best pouting look. It worked on females everywhere. It had never failed him, until now.

_Doesn't work, Jack, _the TARDIS said softly. Then she was gone.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

_Jack, it's time. What if I told you I had a beautiful blonde and a sexy brunette for you to dine with tonight? _ Jack was helping the Doctor make a few necessary repairs to the TARDIS when the grand lady herself came into his mind.

_I'd say fantastic_, Jack thought back unconsciously mimicking the Time Lord next to him.

_I said dine, not sleep with, pretty boy._ The TARDIS' tone was almost flirtatious as she corrected him.

_Can be the same thing,_ Jack thought flirting back.

_You are incorrigible, Johnathan. _Jack didn't take the TARDIS' words to heart. It was hard to when he could feel her laughing.

_I am not incorrigible, I am incorrigible in twenty languages and fifty customs_, and on ten planets Jack corrected her.

_Only a git would be proud of something like that, Jack_. The TARDIS said smugly.

_I know, _Jack thought back.

_This was the reason she rarely spoke to anyone The TARDIS thought to herself. Humans could be so asinine and pedantic to speak with. She'd made an exception for Jack because he wanted to help her family. Still she had to admit, the ex con man did keep her entertained. She sometimes suspected that was the reason Theta let him stay as well. Say what you would about Jack. He was certainly never boring. _

_Time to get to work, Jack. The TARDIS said as much to Jack as to herself to get back into the right frame of mind._

_What do you want me to do, beautiful? _Jack asked her

_Take them to dinner. You'll find you have reservations at The Speakeasy for eight o'clock. _Jack had to stop himself from whistling aloud. The Speakeasy was a new London hotspot that was themed to emulate the prohibition years in the United States. From what Jack had heard it was harder to get into than the private rooms of the royal family. Rose had mentioned once in passing she'd like to go there and surprisingly the Doctor had agreed. He told her he would take her the next time he brought her to visit Jackie. Apparently the TARDIS had remembered.

_Anything else I need to do beautiful_? Jack asked the TARDIS.

_When the time comes don't be the hero. _ Her words were cryptic but Jack was already coming to appreciate they were most likely the only answer he was going to get.


	2. With One Look

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor who, any rights and properties thereof**_  
_**

**_Chapter Two: With One Look_**

"Are you ready yet, Rose our reservations are in thirty minutes." The Doctor called down the hall to his tardy companion. The Doctor had been slightly surprised when Jack mentioned he had made reservations to the speakeasy, only because he had been planning on making them himself that evening and taking Jack and Rose there. Jack was dressed in a gray pinstriped suit that looked like it had come from the 1920's. The TARDIS wardrobe had done well. A dove grey fedora completed Jack's outfit. The Doctor had even changed out of his jumper and jeans. He had declined a suit jacket in favor of a plain white dress shirt and a wide tie the same shade of blue as his eyes. His pants had red pinstripes against a black background. From the way she squealed the Doctor assumed Rose had found something appropriate for the time period of Speakeasy as well.

"Perfection takes time, Doctor." Rose called back.

"We don't have that much time." The Doctor called back grinning as he imagined the look on her face at his words. He wasn't prepared for her response. Rose called him a follower of the Oedipus in perfect Gallifreyan. It shouldn't have been possible. The closest he had ever heard a human come to speaking Gallifreyan was a dim memory of his human mother trying to speak more than a few simple words and phrases. He had never heard a human able to utter the words Rose had used with an almost native born fluency. He didn't know if he was proud of the fact that she had obviously been paying attention when he had been fixing the TARDIS and had learned well or concerned that he had better start watching what he said. The TARDIS didn't translate Gallifreyan out of respect for him but translation was apparently no longer a problem for young Miss Tyler.

He settled for a queer sense of pride especially when Jack asked him. "Was that Gallifreyan?"

The Doctor nodded and Jack looked even more confused. "I thought humans couldn't speak Gallifreyan, Doctor."

"They can't usually. My Rose is quite unique."

Jack started to ask him another question and the Doctor cut him off.

"No I'm not going to tell you what she said." Jack shrugged as if to say, I had to try.

"Thank you, TARDIS." Rose said as she looked in the mirror at the costume the TARDIS had provided for her when Jack announced he was taking the two of them to Speakeasy. Rose was wearing a ruby red flapper dress with a beaded fringe hem that just touched the middle of her thighs. The dress was cut low in the back and just over the top of her cleavage in the front. It wasn't short or low enough to make her feel like a tart but it made her legs look long and her cleavage was brought front and center. There had been a black hat on the bed that had a silk ruby colored rose pinned to the left and a pair of heels a shade darker than the dress. Rose couldn't wait until the guys saw her. Maybe this time if the Doctor called her beautiful he would leave off the qualifier, for a human. At the very least, she was sure Jack's would tell her she looked pretty. He wasn't the one she really wanted to hear it from but a girl liked to be flattered.

"What do you think?" Rose asked walking into the control and spinning around to allow the men to get the full effect of her outfit.

Jack, as expected whistled appreciatively at her. "You look wonderful, Rosie."

She tried to give him a glare at the diminutive of her name but couldn't help smiling at the compliment. It ruined the affect of her glare considerably. Rose then turned to the Doctor to see what he would say if anything. He gazed at her a long moment and his eyes were completely unreadable. The intense heat in his eyes was a little unnerving. She almost wished he would laugh and tell her she looked pretty for a human or make a snarky comment on how long the two men had been waiting. She couldn't remember any man looking at her like he was at the moment and she didn't know how to react, especially considering it was coming from him. The Doctor's words and gestures that reminded her she was a woman were so rare that what might have been simple flirting from someone like Jack became monumental from the Doctor. _Say something, end this, let me look away,_ Rose begged him silently. She was sure it would only be with words that he could break the hold he had on her with his magnetic eyes.

"You look stunning, Rose." The words were delivered with such an honest intensity that it took her breath away. His words and his look were making her forget things she should remember like getting her heart to start beating again and her lungs to voluntarily take in air. If he touched her she would be lost.

Before Rose knew what he was about to do, the Doctor had taken her hand pulling her slightly towards him before lifting her hand to his lips and in a gesture more in place with a courtly love setting but still perfectly natural coming from the Doctor brushed his lips across the back of her hand. It was perfectly innocent gesture; except his tongue touched her hand as he kissed it and Rose came undone. She couldn't stop the slight tremor that ran through her at the touch of his lips and tongue on her suddenly overheated skin. From the darkening of his eyes and the way the hand holding hers tightened slightly, he hadn't missed it either. There was a dark promise in his eyes and more than a touch of very masculine pride.

Rose wanted to ask him many questions. The first and foremost being would he do that again at least once a day for the rest of her life. She'd never reacted that strongly to such an innocent and dangerously intimate touch and could well see becoming easily addicted to it. She wanted to ask him why he had done it. She knew he had been giving Jack keep away stares and glares but she didn't think he had done this as an indication of possession. It was too intimate for that. She wanted to ask him but she was hesitant about asking when she saw the hidden answers in his eyes. Instead Rose turned her hand in his and laced their fingers together in the now familiar gesture. "Shall we?"

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

_ He was getting good at his masquerade_, the Doctor realized. Then again, even a stupid ape would have gotten good at hiding his true face, his true feelings after nine hundred years. So it was the nine hundred years of experience he called upon to perform the biggest masquerade of his life so far. He was pretending to be an asexual alien that didn't long for Rose with every breath, that didn't live for the moments when she put her small hand in his. It was the most innocent of touches yet it affected him more profoundly than the most intimate of caresses because it was Rose's hand that he held.

He suspected she was attracted to him. In the basement of the hospital, Rose had been openly flirting with him and though he told the greatest lies to himself even he couldn't deny he had responded to the flirting. He had taken her into his arms and started to dance with her. He had wondered what she would have said if he kissed her, as he had wanted to do. As he had wanted to do since he saw her in the lift in the basement of the department store. He had wanted her in the lift and when she came swinging on the chain and saved him from the Nestene Conciousness, he knew he was in love with her. Her compassion, bravery, and beauty from the outside in, everything that made her Rose had made him fall completely in love with her.

She had flirted with him more than once, but he often wondered if it was because she was genuinely attracted to him or was it because they were so close. He had heard her describe him as so much more than her boyfriend and more than her best mate and he had realized as she said it that the description summed up their relationship as well as anything could. He doubted she could be in love with him. Attracted to him? possibly. Loved him? Certainly. He was sure she loved him. Rose loved everyone that was part of the beauty that made her Rose. In love with him? Not even a chance. Rose was light and life. She wouldn't love someone as damaged and dark as himself.

He had nothing to offer her. A chance to die on an almost daily basis, a pair of battered hearts in a broken man, being away from the family and friends who cared for her, and needed her as he did. These things were all he had to offer her. For an angel such as his Rose, this offering was nowhere near worthy enough. She deserved to be treated as the jewel that she was.

So he hid his love, gave her congenial smiles never hinting at the real emotions below the surface. He continued his masquerade and tried not to notice times like now when it fell away and he was revealed. When she'd come into the control room he hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her. It wasn't that she hadn't been beautiful before, to him she was the most beautiful woman in the universe, but tonight she had been extra stunning. It had been all he could do not to take her into his arms and kiss her passionately, letting his hands explore her curves ad finding out what made her breath quicken and her pulse pound. What would make her melt into his arms? How would his Gallifreyan nickname, it was the closet thing he left to a real name, sound on her lips in a moment of passion. He wanted to know it all and he knew it wasn't right so he had settled for kissing her hand and in his mind he was kissing her. In his land of masquerade it was almost enough.

Rose later decided she blamed the shoes for the fall. The shoes the TARDIS had left with her dress were comfortable except the heel was bit higher than she had worn in a while. High heels weren't exactly a vital part of life with the Doctor. So Rose blamed the shoes when she was walking back to the TARDIS and the heel of her left shoe snapped causing her to topple forward, twisting her ankle under her as she fell.

"You've got to teach me some of those words, sweetheart." Jack said as he stopped walking to turn back to Rose who had just let loose with some more Gallifreyan vulgarities she had learned from her reluctant tutor, the Doctor.

Rose gave him a pain filled smile. "Fine help me up and I'll teach you anything you'd like." Rose said holding out her hand to him. Jack pulled her to her feet and reached for her a minute later when Rose wobbled and started to fall backwards. He was going to offer to carry her back to the TARDIS but her words came to mind. When the time comes don't be the hero, the TARDIS had told him. He assumed she meant now.

"Let me." The Doctor said taking Rose from Jack's hold into his own arms. The Doctor's words hadn't been a request as much as a command. Jack happily moves aside and lets the Doctor carry Rose. He hides his smile at the idea that this is what the TARDIS meant earlier about being the hero.

The Doctor was falling and he blamed Rose. The warmth of her in his arms, the scent of her perfume sweeter than the night air around them, the way she sighed as if the pain in her ankle no longer mattered and snuggled closer to him. All this was making him fall into some very human emotions like lust. Time Lords did not give into human emotions or instincts especially not baser instincts like lust. Even being half human and half Gallifreyan was not a sufficient excuse for his obvious failing. He was falling and he couldn't help but take her with him.

The Doctor couldn't understand it. He had carried her into the med lab and mended her ankle. It was a mild sprain and by morning she would be fine. What he found a strange thing, mystifying was the analgesic her normally gave her for pain was having no effect on her. Rose had tried to assure him that she was fine but he could see the lie in the way she held herself and in her eyes. It was almost as if he could see the pain radiating off of her. There were other things he could give her but the only one he had on hand she had never had and he wasn't sure what her reaction might be. He told her what the options were and always she told him to do what he thought was best. He didn't want to see her in pain all night, so he gave her the shot and hoped for the best.


	3. Trying Not To Notice

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, any rights or properties thereof**_  
_**

**_Chapter Three: Trying Not To Notice_**

She was trying to kill him. The Doctor had wondered before about his companion's intentions towards himself and now he knew for sure. For whatever reason, Rose Tyler was trying to kill him slowly and incredibly painfully. Being a Gallifreyan meant he had some advantages over human physiology. Being male meant that in some ways he had the same disadvantages as human physiology. One of these disadvantages was going to be the death of him. Like any stupid ape male, the Doctor had body parts that occasionally presented him with a conflict of interest. Gallifreyan or not he didn't have enough of a blood supply to keep blood flowing to all major organs at all times. At the moment as all of the blood in his body was pooled in the lower half of his body he was sure both hearts were going to give out and kill him. When this happened and he was sure it would happen soon, it would be all Rose Tyler's fault. He wondered if he could get that put on a tombstone. He knew he had at least four more regenerations left but with the way things were currently going he was sure he would have used them all by the end of the evening.

It had all started innocently enough. After he had set Rose's ankle and given her a shot for the pain he carried her back to her room. The plan as the Doctor saw it was to stay there with her to make sure he was close by if she had an adverse reaction to the medication he had given her. It wasn't as if he needed to sleep. He'd just stay in the chair by her bedside until he knew she'd be all right. It was a good plan and a smart plan. He'd tell her the plan when she opened her door. He'd put her in her room and then had come out into the hallway while she changed into sleepwear. When she opened the door to let him back into the room the Doctor's brain froze and the plan went straight to hell.

It wasn't that Rose's sleepwear was deliberately provocative. In nine hundred years he had seen some of the universe's finest examples of lingerie. The oversized white tee shirt she was wearing, didn't even come close. It was modest and completely appropriate for the situation. The fact that the tee-shirt hinted at the curves underneath it in a way that made his hands itch to go exploring those curves and made her legs look a mile long under the mid thigh hem, well that was just an added bonus. One that left no blood in the northern half of his body, but still just a bonus. "All-right then, Doctor?" Rose asked as she gingerly slid into the bed. Her ankle was still a bit stiff.

"Fine, Rose." The Doctor answered settling down into the dubious comfort of the comfy chair. Rose sat up to look at him and the tee shirt that had seemed so loose a minute ago became tight. The tee shirt must have had special properties because at the same moment, his jeans did the exact same thing. He wondered, for purely scientific reasons of course, if by removing her tee shirt his jeans would have cause to mysteriously vanish as well. It was an idea that certainly merited exploring later and in great detail, all for the greater good of the universe of course, no blatant self interest on his part, not at all.

"You sure you're all-right?" Rose asked again.

"Fine, just thinking about a TARDIS repair I'm going to need Jack's help on." He told her. _Liar, liar, liar_, his conscience chided him. _What should I have told her_, the Doctor asked himself, _No_ _Rose, I'm not all right because at the moment I have a burning desire to have you in my arms naked and shattering under me._ Yeah, that would go over really well. Rose would demand to be taken home, undoubtedly causing him great physical pain first. His ship would mutiny, for the next hundred years or so and the worst torture of all he would have to face Jackie Tyler, even brave men knew when a mission was suicidal. Considering the slap she had given him when she thought he and Rose were sleeping together he was afraid to imagine the beating he would get if she had confirmation from Rose that they had indeed slept together. Not to mention Captain Biggles might decide to get overprotective and harm him as well. He really didn't want to have to defend himself from Jack. He'd undoubtedly kill the smart arse American and there weren't any planets nearby that he disliked enough to pollute them with Jack's body.

He just had to get his mind on something else. He was a genius after all, it couldn't be too hard, his conscience snickered at his choice of word. I meant difficult, he corrected himself testily. _You meant hard_, his conscience that he was really starting to despise, corrected him still snickering. _Shut it, _the Doctor thought nastily. He hadn't realized his inner self was such a wanker; it was more than a bit troubling, really. Determined to ignore his conscience the Doctor tried to think of anything other than the woman in the bed.

The problem with that was in many ways he was little more than a stupid ape, though he'd never tell Rose or Jack that. He would never live it down. Like any stupid ape, when he told himself not to think about something he thought about it more. So of course, when he told himself not to think of Rose, she was all he thought of in ways and situations that the Doctor was sure even the captain would be in awe of._ Right, I am better at this than a stupid ape, I am a Time Lord and I can make myself think unsexy thoughts, _The Doctor decided. He began to repeat a mantra in his head. _Jackie in a bikini, Jackie in a bikini, Jackie in a bikini. _Around the fifth time he'd repeated this his conscience decided to speak out again. _Are you trying to kill us_? His inner self demanded. The Doctor supposed his inner self had a point. He had merely been trying to cool his lust not render his brain into mush. _Mickey The Idiot in a bikini,_ he tried instead. That was better. The image was horrifying yes, and prolonged exposure to the image might leave scar tissue but at least it wouldn't be fatal.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

The Doctor was being a git. Rose could hear from his shifting in the chair and the heaviness his breathing that he was uncomfortable and she knew he wouldn't do anything about it. _Why_ _did he have to be such a bloke?_ Rose wondered. For all his blathering on about being a superior species when compared to the stupid apes of Earth, he could be so frustratingly _male_, for lack of a better term it. He wanted to stay in her room and make sure she didn't have a reaction to the painkiller he had given her for her ankle. Fine, she had no problem with his staying. She actually thought it was rather sweet, but she didn't know why he didn't just join her in the bed. It wasn't as if he had never shared a bed with her before. True, he had never shared her bed in the carnal sense, damn her luck. The point was though that he had slept next to her before. So why was being such a prat now? Rose was going to fix this. After all for all his boasting about being superior to humans, he was still a man who she knew very well, including his weaknesses. Hoping that she wouldn't start laughing she called out to him. "Doctor."

_Ah ha, success! _Rose thought happily. The Doctor's eyes snapped open and in an instant he was sitting at the edge of her bed looking down at her. "Rose, you all-right." He touched her cheek tentatively. She almost felt bad for tricking him; he looked so worried, almost.

"Hurts a little still, that's all. Sit with me for a bit?" _Oh she was good_, Rose thought with a mental giggle. He immediately took off his boots and lay next to her on the bed. His stance was a little rigid and there was almost enough room for a third person between them but he was there, that had been her main objective.

She was killing him by inches, as the expression went. He was even closer to her now than he had been in the chair and it was even more torture. She was so close; he could reach out and touch her. Rassilon, he wanted to touch her. In his train of obscure thoughts something from a Monty Python movie had seen suddenly came back to him: "Brian, get away from that girl; don't really want to, Mum." At the time he had laughed at the stupid ape comment, now it seemed perfectly logical to him. He knew exactly where poor Brian was coming from. Here he was lying next to Rose, and he should have been in the chair across the room, a safe distance away. _Bad Doctor! Get away from the girl,_ the Doctor ordered himself. The thought was immediately followed by the realization that he, like Brian, didn't really want to.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

_Breathe, must breathe_, Rose reminded herself. Calling the Doctor to her bed had seemed like a good idea when she was trying to get him to relax. Now she was the one was silently screaming in tension. Even with the amount of space between them he was close enough to affect her breathing. In the dark, she couldn't help but think about hours before when they had gone to the Speakeasy for dinner. The way he had looked at her when he kissed the back of her hand, the questions she knew he'd seen in her eyes and the answers she had been afraid to acknowledge in his. Why did she have to think about now? She wondered if she was unconsciously a masochist because that was the only possible explanation for deciding that the best time to be having sensual daydreams about an alien she needed to see nude as often as possible is while said alien is in her bed and close enough to kiss, fondle, touch, and any other erotic variation she can think of on the old fold, (She'd like that), spindle (That one she might have to train up for) and mutilate (Doesn't sound as promising unless scratching her nails down his back in the heat of passion qualifies as mutilation) Rose felt herself turning red at that thought even as heat pooled inside her making her nerves sing. _Breathe, come on now, do it often_ _enough and you might just get the hang of it,_ Rose encouraged herself mentally.

_He had to leave the bedroom and he had to do it now_, The Doctor realized. He had more senses than a human and right now they were all conspiring against him to drive him mad. For a being who was not entirely sure he was sane at the best of times it was a short trip. He could hear the hitching in Rose's breath as she lay next to him. Even in the dark he could see the blush that warmed her skin and from the tense way she held herself he knew the blush wasn't coming from embarrassment.

Rose, his Rose was teetering at the knife's edge of arousal. One touch, one word and she would go spiraling over the edge into a white-hot flame. It was an idea he knew he shouldn't encourage even in his own head, but he wanted to be the one who took her there, the one who made her twist every way. He wanted her under him shattering, he wanted her over him, her face a study in rapture. He wanted her, that's what it came down to; didn't matter whether he chose to acknowledge it or what label he gave it. He wanted her.

He could have her. This wasn't a smug self-serving idea on his part. It was simple fact. He might not have been as practiced at seduction as Jack, though to be fair he was sure there were entire galaxies of people who were not as practiced as the former Time agent, but he knew Rose was attracted to him. He had suspected it before but this evening when he had taken her hand in his own and raised it to his lips he had seen the attraction for him that she tried to keep hidden. It had burned in her eyes like a super nova before banking and being hidden. He could feel it coming from her now. She wanted him and while he wasn't Jack, nine hundred plus years of life had taught him enough that he knew when he burned he could have Rose right there with him shining. He could but he didn't do that with companions, that was his hard fast rule and he was afraid to change it.

_So what was all that earlier then_? The Doctor's inner voice asked him. The Doctor was wondering if it was possible to strangle his own conscience. His was certainly pissing him off. _Were_ _you trying to make Jack envious?_ The inner bastard, as the Doctor decided to call him, asked. Had he been trying to make Jack envious? No, he had very clearly told Jack where he stood when the former con man had come aboard the TARDIS. His early actions were all for Rose. When she had walked into the control room the Doctor had forgotten that anyone or anything existed outside of the woman in front of him. His world had begun and ended in Rose's eyes and her sunny smile.

Taking her hand and kissing it had been a foolish action perhaps but it had been a necessary one. When she had come into the room in that dress and an aura of sweetness and unconscious sensuality he had wanted to claim her. He had wanted to announce to the world that she had been created for him and him alone. He had wanted to touch the satiny flesh of her thighs. He had wanted to dip his fingers just below the line of the back of her almost backless dress and stroke the flesh there until she writhed against him. He had wanted to lick the back of her neck and listen to the broken sighs he was sure she would make in her pleasure. He had wanted to pull her tight against him and let her warm, small hands explore how alike his physiology was to her own while at the same time being incredibly different. He had wanted to slide the spaghetti straps of her dress off of her shoulders and kiss and tease the flesh bared to his gaze. He had wanted to find out if she was ticklish by using his lips and tongue. He wanted to see her eyes bright with passion and feel her holding him tight and hot. He had wanted so much that he had kissed her hand and touched it with the tip of tongue because that way he had at least one touch; he'd had one taste of her golden skin. It was like giving a dying man water in a desert and only giving him one cup. It was a taste that inflamed his senses more than sated them, but like the dying man in the desert the one touch, one kiss had given him a dream to dream.

Like the dying man in the desert, The Doctor wanted more. Dreams may have to last him when she was gone but at the moment he wanted more, needed more. He rolled onto his side so he was facing her in the darkness. He moved silently across the bed and smiled sensually at her gasp of surprise when he touched her arm, indicating how very close to her he now was. He wondered if she would gasp like that when he kissed her and he knew he was going to do so before his next breath.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

"What are you doing, Doctor? Did you decide to tell me a bedtime story?" Rose asked him archly. The hand on her arm shook so slightly that she thought she had only imagined it.

The Doctor spoke, his voice lower than she'd ever heard it. The tone was like velvet against her suddenly overheated skin. "No, but I realized something." He was closer to her now; she could only make out the faintest outline of his shape in the darkness and was unprepared for his warm breath on her neck when he spoke again.

"I realized you didn't get a good night kiss." He couldn't mean that he wanted to kiss her. She couldn't get that lucky. He had to be teasing her. Well, yes he was teasing her, Rose realized. She had just never expected him to tease her like this. His teasing was dark and sensual like whiskey and satin sheets.

"What are you going to do about that Doctor?" Rose asked feeling suddenly breathless. He had moved again and was even closer to her now; she could feel the wool of his jumper brushing across her arms and the scrape of the denim of his jeans brushing the outside of her thighs. She would have asked him to turn on the lights but the dark was more exciting it made the moment between them more intimate, in the dark they were just the Doctor and Rose, not anything more or less. The Doctor didn't answer her; instead he brushed one finger across her lower lip before pulling away slowly. Rose tried to follow his finger with her lips and moaned at the loss of contact. She craved the feeling of his skin on hers again.

"Let me?" The Doctor whispered into her mouth. Rose tried to nod, to speak, to find some way to tell him; yes whatever he wanted her to let him do, she would. She was his, and always had been. She didn't know how he knew it but he seemed to realize she was consenting because his lips were on hers.

His lips were cool and his kiss was soft. Rose felt him shift slightly and then he was tugging on her bottom lip, the sensation sent an immediate jolt of pleasure through her. Rose groaned at the contact and the Doctor took advantage of the groan to touch her tongue with his own. He put his hands on either side of her face, deepening the kiss. Rose was lost in the kiss. She wanted more. His kiss affected her in ways that no one's had ever affected her. Jimmy Stone, the monster with the pretty face had actually been a decent kisser but the Doctor's kiss left Jimmy's best efforts standing alone in the dust. He kissed her as if it was all he wanted to do. There was no trying to dazzle her with kisses so she wouldn't notice that his hand was on her body. He didn't kiss her roughly as if he expected a few hard kisses would make her want to take things further. He kissed her as if she was the only person in his world and this was what he had been waiting a lifetime to do and he wanted to do it right. It was an amazing feeling. Whatever she had done to deserve it she wished he would tell her because she would be happy to repeat the action until her dying day if he would just keep kissing her like this.

The Doctor wondered what he had ever done in any of his lifetimes to deserve the woman in his arms. Rose was so warm and giving. Her little groans and sighs were the sweetest of music to his ears and his hearts. She had her arms around him and her hands were burning the skin on his back through his jumper. When he had deepened the kiss he had been momentarily hesitant. He didn't want to scare her or rush her. Rose had responded with a passion that surprised him and matched his own. He loved holding her in his arms and kissing her but he wanted more. He needed to feel more of her against him. He took his hand from her left cheek and ran it down the back of her neck delighting in the way she arched into his touch. Rubbing his thumb on the back of her neck under her hairline he swallowed her sudden moan and pulled her closer. "On top now." The Doctor begged her.

"On top now." Three small words but they were to Rose the most erotic words she had ever heard. To finally see and experience the passionate Gallifreyan man hidden under the cold, clinical Time Lord façade was the most arousing sensation she had ever experienced. She could deny him nothing and wouldn't deny him this. Placing her hands on his shoulders for balance Rose allowed him to pull her until her body lay flush against his, her breasts pressed to his jumper covered chest and her hips cradled by his muscular thighs. The Doctor's lips are on hers again and while his kiss is still unhurried his talented fingers are doing incredible things to her body. His fingers are on the back of her thighs tracing her skin with light teasing touches that are evolving into long strokes. His other hand is on her back molding her to him. When he presses the small of her back and brings her hips into closer contact with his own they both moan at the pleasure of the contact. His touch is a little more intense now but still not rough. He uses one hand to keep her hips pinned to his and the other has moved from her thighs to the back of her neck. He rubs his thumb across the back of her neck in time to the strokes of his tongue in her mouth. The touch is so intense Rose thinks she might come without him having to touch in a more intimate way.

His control is hanging by a thread. Rose is so warm and responsive against him. He wonders idly what he has done to deserve her. He realizes he cannot think of a single thing he has done to warrant the angel in his arms but he's never letting her go. Rose grinds on his hips and it's all he can do not to flip her over pin her under him and divest of her of her clothing and bury himself into her sweet welcoming body. He cannot do that, not tonight at any rate. He doesn't want her to think he's going to treat this cheaply. He will become her lover, he knows this as surely as he knows his name but it will happen in the right way and the right time. He really should stop her. He really should, after one more kiss. Just one more kiss, he promises himself. Rose groans into his mouth as he slides a hand under the hem of her tee shirt and onto the warm skin at the top of her knickers and he is lost.

"Doctor." Rose says his name on a broken moan trying to tell him with just that one word how overwhelmed she feels, how his touch is too much and nowhere near enough. She wants, she needs more and she's unsure how to tell him, ask him, or beg him. At the moment she feels all three might be warranted. She wants him to touch her, her bare skin. She's afraid she will die if he doesn't. Rose is equally afraid she will die if he does. He's kissing her neck, scorching kisses that burn, it's not enough. She needs to see his eyes. She realizes the room is still dark but if she is looking at his face she'll feel as if she sees his eyes and that will be enough.

"Doctor," Rose tries again. He stills against her neck and brings his eyes to hers. Rose gasps even in the dark of the room she can see his beautiful eyes, they are glowing. In his eyes, Rose can see so many things, heat, passion and what almost looks like love.

"What is it, my darling?" he asked surprising her with the endearment. Rose feels suddenly shy about making her request. She's never actually been in this position and it's frightening.

"Doctor, touch me, please." Rose asks him keeping her eyes level with his despite her fear. The Doctor seems to understand just what she is asking and moves the hand under her shirt from the skin at the top of her knickers to the middle of her back. Rose responds instantly by arching into him and releasing a breathless cry.

"Better?" The question is a growl but it is all he can manage at the moment. He runs his hand across her back delighting in the sounds she is making into his kiss and the movements of her body against him. She makes him feel as if he's never been intimate with another person before and he acknowledges this feeling as only proper as there has never been some one like Rose.

"Doctor," As he moves his hand against her neck Rose tears her mouth away from his, his name a cry of ecstasy on her lips. Suddenly he needs to hear his Gallifreyan nickname from her lips.

"Theta." He breathes against her neck as he kisses her the line of her jaw and down her throat. Rose doesn't respond but he's sure she's heard him. When he lowers his head to kiss the skin at the edge of her tee shirt she clutches at his shoulders and whimpers.

"Theta, please." The sound is the most erotic he has ever heard. He's about to do as she asks, to lift the shirt off her body and use his lips and tongue to please her when the room shakes violently. Rose is thrown off of him and lands on the side of the bed she had vacated before with a thud.


	4. A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, any rights or properties thereof_**  
**_

_**Chapter Four: A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste**_

"Are you hurt?" The Doctor asked her. The passion of moments before has dissipated and he is back to being her kind and loving Doctor rather than Theta, her lover. Even if they haven't reached that stage yet, Rose knows they will. She's surprised to find the lightening fast shift in who he is at the moment doesn't upset her. She can see in his eyes, that Theta is still there, he's just not being given the centre stage at the moment. "I'm fine, ankle's still a bit sore, I'm more worried about the TARDIS. Go check her." Rose said waving him off. The TARDIS was floating in the space at the moment and shouldn't have rocked that violently without cause. "Go" Rose said again. She can almost see the struggle on his face. He could stay here with her. The two of them could continue to explore exactly how many ways humans and Gallifreyans were similar, or he could go see why the TARDIS had rocked. No doubt the Doctor would investigate the cause and then make plans for something Rose was sure the Doctor would call a fantastic adventure. Giving her one last smile the Doctor got up and left the room. Rose cannot see him but she can almost picture him bouncing down the hall his curiosity level set to high. She wishes she could come with him, she's more than a little curious herself but unless she wants him to carry her, she's better off staying here.

It's not that she's opposed to the carrying, far from it. Rose loved being carried by the Doctor and was pretty certain from the way he'd reacted he'd enjoyed having her that close as well. It was just the carrying would led to kissing, (again, very nice) and that would led them in here. Rose would have very much liked spending more time on her bed on her Doctor. The problem was until they knew what had happened to the TARDIS engaging in any activities that couldn't be stopped within a minute's notice was not the best of ideas. True, kissing the Doctor was an activity that could be stopped at a moment's notice if the situation so required, but not without at least a minor discomfort to both participants, so kissing was out.

ZAPHOOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

Rose can just see this in the annals of history on some far away planet. In her head she can see an alien lecturer or professor of some sort telling the story of the Doctor as a precautionary warning against getting too friendly with other aliens. It would be kind of like the boogey man stories Rose had heard as a child. Obey your parents or the boogey man might come for you. In her head she can just see the professor standing in front of a room of eager young pupils as he begins his tale.

"Once upon a time", Rose is sure all stories that are called entertaining but in reality are meant to frighten children into the proper behavior begin with once upon a time. "There was a man called the Doctor who was the last Gallifreyan and the last of the Time Lords. He was a brave and fearless man who laughed in the face of danger. He lived for over nine hundred years doing things that some would call daring, others would call foolish. If he died, he was able to bring himself back to life again; he was that powerful. That was until he met the end with a kiss. You see the Doctor," At this point Rose can see the alien lecturer rolling his eyes at the Doctor's folly, "The Doctor had a human companion named Rose. He and Rose enjoyed that vulgar act that humans refer to as kissing." Rose can almost see the look of disgust on the alien's face as he says the word kissing. "Well one day the two of them were kissing," Again Rose can picture the look of disgust and this time the accompanying eye rolling. "And they didn't realize that the Doctor's TARDIS had been attacked by a large green monster intent on devouring the universe. By the time they were able to distance themselves from each other, it was too late. The monster had eaten them and half of the Milky Way. So let that be a lesson to you, do not mingle with other species, it could get you killed."

Flopping back on her bed Rose is still grinning at the direction her thoughts have taken and didn't immediately notice that the Doctor had reentered her room. "What's so funny?" Rose shook her head. Somehow she doubted he would see the situation as humorous as she did.

"Is the TARDIS all-right?" Rose asked when she had stopped laughing. The Doctor nodded looking a little confused. He had found a few loose wires under the console but nothing to indicate a problem that would have made the old girl shake as she had.

"Yeah, I've got a bit of repair work though and I forgot something while I was in here." He said sitting down next to her.

"What?" Rose isn't sure what he could have forgotten he was still fully dressed except for his jacket and shoes and she didn't imagine that he needed those to work on the TARDIS console.

"This," He turned the lights on when he came into the room this time and she couldn't miss the hungry, sensual smile on his face as he bent over her.

This time his kiss was rougher and harder. His tongue plundered her mouth without waiting and his lips were bruising hers, but Rose wasn't about to complain. He was kissing her as if he had starved for her the few minutes he had been away from her. He pulled her fiercely into his lap and ran his hands up and down her back as if trying to memorize the feel of her skin under his fingers. He was holding her so tight she was sure she'd be bruised in the morning, and she couldn't bring herself to care. Rose groaned under his lips as she tried to pull him closer. His hard thigh was rubbing against the inside of her body and she thought she was going explode at the contact. The passion she had experienced on the bed was nothing compared to being in his arms now. She wanted to scream when he pulled away and set her off his lap and back on the bed. He was breathing hard when he took her face in his hand to get her to face him.

"Going to be busy for a few hours, my Rose. Sorry about that." He said still panting. His movements were stiff as he stood and Rose smiled as she realized why he was having trouble walking.

"Come back when you're done?" Rose asked him.

The Doctor shook his head pretending to look offended. "I don't do that on the first date, you know and seeing as you haven't even bought me dinner yet. Really, Rose, keep this up and I'm going to think you are only after my virtue." He kissed her again, gentler this time before he walked out the door.

" I am." Rose hollered after him.

_What are you doing?_ Jack asked the TARDIS as he saw the Doctor coming from Rose's room. Jack hadn't heard the entire conversation but had heard Rose's last comment. After seeing the Doctor's somewhat flustered state and hearing the comment about his virtue Jack could guess pretty accurately what had happened behind Rose's door. Jack was thrilled at the change of events and was sure the TARDIS would be so he wasn't sure why the ship had rocked herself so violently or flung off part of her console panel. It made no sense. If the TARDIS was trying to get the two of them together why was she pulling them apart?

_Have you never wanted something more because you couldn't have it right away?_ The TARDIS asked Jack.

Of course he had. Everyone had done it at some point in his or her lives. It was part of human nature. Jack just didn't think it was part of the Time Lord's nature. The Doctor didn't seem the type who savored the anticipation of anything. Jack supposed he didn't blame the man, when you could have whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted it anticipation was a moot point. He wasn't sure that the Doctor would appreciate what his ship was doing to him if he ever found out. Jack certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell him but Jack wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor would still find out. There seemed to be very little the Gallifreyan didn't know, especially in regards to what happened on the TARDIS. "You are aware this is going to drive him mad?" Jack asked the TARDIS as he considered her actions.

He could hear her laughter in his head. _At least it won't be a long trip._

"Did you have to do this now?" The Doctor asked the TARDIS crossly as he slid under the console.

"Do you know what you interrupted?" he grumbled as he began repairing wire. Of all the times for the old girl to get temperamental why did have to be now? He couldn't find anything that could have caused her to rock as she had. It was almost as if the TARDIS had deliberately shaken to get him away from Rose. He was sure he was mistaken though; the Doctor knew the TARDIS cared deeply for Rose and wouldn't have deliberately done something to hurt her. He closed his eyes for a moment, as he thought of Rose probably asleep by now. Rose alone in that big bed with the soft cotton sheets. Rose who had returned his kisses with such passion. If he were less of a gentleman and perhaps more of a man he would be leaving the control room and going back to Rose's bed post haste. It didn't take much for his mind to give into the hungers of his body with a particularly vivid daydream.

ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX FOR PRESIDENT

_Fix the TARDIS now, cold shower after,_ the Doctor thought to himself as he began to work on the TARDIS wiring. It would be a very cold shower. Thoughts of Rose still had him steaming, and for some reason it felt warmer than usual under the TARDIS' console. He was sure some of the warmth was from his time with Rose and what they had been doing and he had been contemplating doing but there seemed to be more too it than that. As he worked his thoughts went more from a cold shower to a hot one. Actually to a steaming shower; a steaming shower where he had a certain blonde companion for company.

_The Doctor's Daydream_

_Nothing like a nice hot shower, the Doctor thought happily as he stepped under the steaming spray. It took the feeling of a small warm hand on back before he realized he wasn't alone. He turned in the direction of the hand to discover Rose, wet and equally nude standing against the wall, a coy smile was on her face. "Looking for someone?" The Doctor asked as he raised one eyebrow._

_"Thought you might need help washing your back." Rose said holding up a small bath sponge._

_"I might need help washing a bit more than my back are you sure you're up for it?" The Doctor asked dangerously._

_"Sure, back, front, chest, I'm flexible." Rose said stepping closer._

_"Let's find out how much." The Doctor said before capturing her mouth with his._

_The Doctor pulled her into his arms guiding her legs up around his hips and pressed her back into the tile of the shower wall. Rose groaned and pushed herself closer to him wanting to feel his cool skin against her overheated flesh. The Doctor's lips were on her neck and Rose's hands were at his shoulders. "Wasn't aware this was considered a form of washing." Rose said breathless as his lips left her neck to kiss and nibble his way down her chest._

_"I'll get you clean." The Doctor growled against her skin. "I have a very clean tongue." As if to prove it he took one of Rose's nipples in his mouth grating slightly on the edges with his teeth. Rose's cry of pleasure filled the room._

_"More please, Doctor." She gasped as he continued his exploration of her breasts with his lips and tongue. His fingers were tracing patterns on the inside of her thighs causing her to wiggle against him alternately offering wordless encouragement and vague threats when he didn't put his fingers just where she wanted and needed them to go._

_"Yes, Rose something you want?" The Doctor asked with a chuckle grinning against her lips._

_"You know damn well what I want, you bastard." Rose said the words on a groan as the Doctor's hold on her shifted and his clever fingers were finally where she needed them to be._

_"That better?" The Doctor asked in between nibbling on her neck and shoulder._

_"You tell me." Rose responded using her own hands at the juncture of his thighs in such a way that he almost fell over at the touch._

_"Rose, I need, I want." The Doctor began, his words broken as he panted for the breath that seemed to elude him._

_"Now." Rose said meeting his eyes._

_"Now!" The Doctor confirmed sliding into her._

"Doctor, ah Doctor? Are you all right under there? I don't usually hear you moaning while fixing the TARDIS. Swearing sure, moaning now that is a new one. "

The sound of Jack's voice brought the Doctor out of the daydream in a snap. He became aware of three things simultaneously. He was still under the TARDIS console panel. He was no longer alone in the control room and from the laughter he heard in Jack's voice his daydream might have been a touch on the vocal side. A fourth thing came to mind as he started to pull himself out from under the console. If he moved any further forward any hints Jack might have gotten as to what sort of daydream the Doctor had been having from the noises he had made would be confirmed by his anatomy. It was bad enough to have Jack suspect he was right to have it confirmed was something the Doctor would never live down.

"I'm fine, Jack. I hit my thumb that's what the moaning was about." The Doctor said thinking fast. He waited to see if the former Time Agent would accept his excuse. There was no way he was going to move out from under the console until Jack was out of the room.

"You might want to try hot dogs." Jack said leaning down next to the Doctor's feet.

"Hot dogs?" The Doctor asked confused.

"Yes, if you start thinking about what exactly is in a hot dog the swelling in your _thumb_ should go down in about twenty minutes. " Jack said helpfully, he was laughing as he left the room alerting the Doctor to the fact that he knew exactly where the swelling really was.


	5. Only You

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show that this story is based on or the characters that are used in the story. I make no profit monetary or otherwise from the writing of this story.

Chapter Five: Only You

Rose punched her pillow angrily. It wasn't fair that Theta, her Doctor hadn't come back to her room. She hadn't thought he would, but she had hoped he would. With a few not so simple kisses and caresses he had gotten her so wound up that Rose was afraid she wouldn't be able to sleep. She rolled over on her back cursing the Gallifreyan in the console room and eventually fell asleep.

_Rose's Dream_

The Doctor, her Theta, hadn't come back to her so Rose decided to go to him. She found him in the console room long legs sticking out from under the TARDIS console as he repaired something that only he knew was broken. Rose heard swearing coming from the direction of the Doctor's upper body and grinned. It sounded like the TARDIS was being her usual cooperative self.

Looking down at the Doctor's long legs stretched out from beneath the TARDIS console gave Rose a wicked idea. Bending down she began to unlace the Doctor's Doc Martens and pulled them off of his feet. She was going to enjoy this.

"Oy, what are you doing down there?"

Rose ignored the Doctor's question and turned her attention to his jeans. The Doctor yelped and tried to sit up as Rose undid his jeans and started to pull them down his legs.

" You stay down there." Rose said pulling the jeans off of him with one hand and holding him down with the other. Rose was pleased to notice that the Doctor obeyed her. Giving him a minute to get accustomed to the fact that she had taken his jeans off of him Rose paused before making her next request.

"Remove your jumper."

The Doctor was completely quiet and for a moment Rose was worried he was going to refuse her request. Then suddenly the Doctor's green jumper came out from under the TARDIS console. She patted the Doctor's foot. "Good Theta."

The Doctor growled his response as Rose sat down and removed her own clothing. Once she was a nude as he was Rose slid under the console and on top of the Doctor.

No words were needed or given as Rose moved into position over the Doctor. In the cramped space under the console there was no room for romance or gentleness. Kisses were fierce and fingers grasped flesh hard enough to be certain of bruises in the morning. Neither the Doctor nor Rose cared about marred flesh or slowed down to wait for the pain of the flesh being harmed to pass before they continued their mating.

Bodies crashed together fighting for dominance in the small space. Rose had to bite her lip from screaming in pleasure and pain as the Doctor thrust into her. His thrusts were hard enough to bring him into a semi-sitting position. The action caused Rose to rock backward on him crying out as he grabbed her hips again to pull her closer. The Doctor slammed into her once, twice and then brought his teeth to her shoulder as he came. Rose followed him over the edge a moment later leaving nail tracks on his back.

Rose lay on the Doctor trying to catch her breath. Under her she could feel the heavy thud of his duel heartbeats thundering and hear the sound of his panting as he tried to catch his own breath. For a long moment neither spoke or moved.

Rose moved first sliding off the Doctor reluctantly. Once she moved out from under the confines of the console Rose got dressed quickly. She had finished when the Doctor came into view.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my room, you've really should be fixing the TARDIS, not mucking about." Rose said with a smile at the Doctor's annoyed expression before she left the room.


	6. A Gift For Living Well

A Teaspoon And An Open Mind: A Doctor Who Fan Fiction Archive

Home Most Recent Categories Authors Titles The Tens Help Search Account Info Logout

Ninth Doctor

The Dancing We Don't See by RagaMuffinSun Reviews - 49 Printer Chapter or Story Add Story to Favorites Add Author to Favorites

Author's Notes:

To everyone who is still kind enough to be reading this I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. What can I say health problems, personal problems and computer problems have made it so hard for me to update. (Slaps self in head with a fish) I promise I will try to update more often.

Thanks to Neko, you are a goddess among Betas.

My apologies to DNA for borrowing his characters and as always I don't own any of the characters and make no money from writing this.

Chapter Twenty-One: A Gift For Living Well

The Doctor had a few hard and fast rules for life. His life had always been full of rules. The Time Lords had been a restrictive bunch that lived for rules and regulations but now they were gone, the Doctor lived by his own rules. Like the rest of his people the Doctor didn't like it when his rules were broken even if he was the one who was breaking the rules; like now.

The Doctor was sure if he had ever taken the time to write out his personal code of rules , the rule he was about to break would be in the top five. In fact , it was big enough that it might even being the fourth and fifth rules.

The rule was never, ever, ever, ask cousin Z for help.

Z was genealogically the Doctor's cousin about as much as Rose was cousin to a goldfish. Z wasn't actually related to the Doctor in any way shape or form but used the appellation 'cousin' to describe his relationship with the Doctor when he wanted something, needed something, or was in trouble with the law on Rigel Seven.

A little known rule in the law books on Rigel Seven stated that anyone arrested for breaking the law could claim that their cousin was, in fact, responsible for their behavior and that the law breakers themselves were completely innocent. It was an archaic law that should have been removed years ago and never had, a fact that Z took shameless advantage of at the worst times.

At the moment the Doctor wasn't sure where Z was but, knew he shouldn't be that hard to find. All the Doctor had to do was to set the TARDIS to find the biggest disturbance around that involved sex, political scandal, and chocolate pudding. Z would be in the middle of it.

If the Doctor agreed to pay off an injured parties, stall any executions, apologize to a few dairy farmers on behalf of his cousin he could get Z out of the middle of it with a minimum of fuss or required jail time. Once the Doctor had Z free, he would remind the humanoid that he owed the Doctor a few dozen favors for assistance in the past and that he wanted to collect on one now.

For all his faults, Z was a ladies' man on par with few others. He had a real gift for living well. He had skills even Jack would die to learn and the Doctor wanted to use these skills to win Rose. The Doctor didn't have the first clue how to go about courting her. He didn't want to be another Mickey The Idiot and run the predictable flowers, candy, snog, third date shag route. He also didn't want to use any Gallifreyan ways, he doubted Rose would appreciate them and actually might injure him if he attempted one. That left him two choices: Jack or Z.

After much thought, the Doctor decided Z was the better choice.

Have you gone mad? The TARDIS asked, as she picked up on Theta's thoughts.

'Cousin' Z was a con man, a swindler, a megalomaniacal bastard and a real ponce. She didn't want to be within two centuries of his time stream. She was still scrubbing down corridors from the last time he'd visited thirty years ago. At that time the Doctor had promised her that Z would only be allowed back if the situation were an emergency.

The TARDIS hadn't expected the Doctor to keep his promise , but she hadn't expected him to renege on it quite so soon

"I'm as sane as I ever was, thank you." The Doctor protested haughtily.

That's not saying much. the TARDIS replied.

The Doctor ignored the taunting. "It's for Rose, old girl. You love Rose and most of the time you like me so do this for me?"

For Rose, but if he tries to sell me off again in a poker game all bets are off.

When the annoyingly chipper voice that belonged to the Heart Of Gold's computer informed him that that the TARDIS - or more properly, the man who was piloting the TARDIS - wanted to speak to him, the humanoid known to the Galaxy as Zaphod Beeblebrox, grinned. His Gallifreyan semi cousin wanted to speak to him; that almost never happened. Zaphod answered the alert. This had to be good.

"What's up, Doc?" Zaphod knew that the Doctor hated being called Doc, but if he was calling Zaphod for help that meant Zaphod had all the power at the moment. He intended to take advantage of it.

"I need your help." The Doctor said shortly. He hated being called Doc, in fact it would be safe to say he despised being called Doc but he needed Z's help. Beggers couldn't be choosers when it came to what Z decided to call him.

"Anything for my favorite cousin." Zaphod purred.

"More like the only cousin you don't owe money, and who will always bail you out." The Doctor corrected softly. He knew exactly how fond of him Zaphod really was and he didn't care. The feeling was mutual. If he wasn't desperate he wouldn't be contacting him.

"What can I do for you, doc?"

"I need help. I want to court a young woman and I need your advice."

"What is she Venutian? Martian? Rigelian? Bachhian?"

"Human. From Earth twenty-first century London."

Zaphod rolled both sets of eyes. He needed help with this? The Doctor had to be kidding. The Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer Of Worlds couldn't figure out how to court a human?

"It's simple Doctor. Flowers, candy, kiss her goodnight and wait for the third date before you attempt to get her in bed."

Before the Doctor could say anything else Zaphod broke the connection. Honestly, he had the intellect to solve the problems of the cosmos provided he wasn't busy, and this is the kind of thing he got plagued with...

"What do you think, Trillian?" Zaphod asked turning one of his heads in her direction.

In true human custom Trillian decided to show him what she thought with a frying pan across his head. Zaphod's last thought was Oh nap time.


	7. Unexpected Song

A.N.: Italics indicate that the TARDIS is speaking or thinking.

Chapter Seven: Unexpected Song

Zaphod had been even less help than the Doctor had anticipated. His pride wouldn't allow him to go ask Jack for advice on how to court Rose. He was sure any advice from the captain would involve threesomes, public nudity and more flexibility than most twenty-first century porn stars routinely exhibited. While he thought it was important for Rose to broaden her views on flexibility this wasn't an area in which she needed an immediate educational boost.

_ How about this for a novel approach ask our Rose what she likes_, The TARDIS suggested suddenly intruding on the Doctor's thoughts. Go away, the Doctor thought back dismissively. A slight rumble in the air and the floor under his feet shaking gave him a graphic reminder of why it was never a good idea to tell the TARDIS to go away.

"All right, I'm sorry for telling you to go away but I can't take your suggestion."

_ Why not?_

"It wouldn't be right." the Doctor answered crossly.

_ You mean it wouldn't be right because if you actually asked our girl what she found romantic you would no longer be so impressive in her eyes, the_ TARDIS countered wisely.

"That's not it at all."

_ If you say so._

The Doctor ignored the TARDIS' last comment and any others she chose to share with him while he went about plotting a course that would take them to the Powell Estates and Jackie Tyler. He hated to do it but he needed help and the best way to get it would be to take Rose home.


	8. She Is A Diamond

A/N: Disclaimers in Chapter One

Chapter Eight: _**She Is A Diamond**_

Rose was worried. For the past few days the Doctor had been acting strange. It wasn't his normal brand of eccentric behavior with his mad escaped mental patient grin and his terrifying ideas of what constituted a fantastic adventure. This was a different strange. He was quiet. He seemed nervous around her and rarely looked her in the eyes anymore when speaking to her. He still took her hand when they went out but now it seemed to be an unconscious offhand gesture rather than the sign of their connection she'd always viewed it as before. If that wasn't enough to worry her there was the fact that he had yet to kiss her again.

The Doctor wasn't Mickey. He wasn't Jimmy or any of the other men she'd dated. Rose didn't expect him to be. She didn't expect him to be anyone but who he was to the outside world the Doctor; in her heart Theta. Because he wasn't anyone but who he was Rose didn't expect him to grab her and snog her senseless or shag her in a heated frenzy up against the TARDIS console the moment that they were alone. She wasn't waiting for him to come to her room during the evening hours, or at least during what passed for evening on the TARDIS, for a quick make-out session before bed. It wasn't his style and not just because he was gentleman. She was however expecting something to happen.

It had been three days since he'd kissed her and not once had he smiled at her or looked at her in a way that indicated he had any intention of doing it again any time soon. Rose knew he wasn't the type that did domestic; it was part of his charm but she'd expected some sort of acknowlegement at the change between them and the longer she went without one the more worried she became.

Did he regret kissing her and touching her? Rose found herself thinking of that question more and more often. He'd certainly seemed to have been enjoying himself at the time but no one could do guilt quite like the Doctor and she wouldn't put it past him to be feeling guilty about their kisses now. If he'd been Mickey she would have just confronted him about it and got it over with. The blunt approach that worked with Mickey didn't work with the Doctor however. If she confronted Theta like she would Mickey the man would grow even more quiet and stubborn. She'd just have to wait him out. As long as he didn't try to take her home everything would be fine.

"Rose, how would you feel about visiting your mum for a while? You could take Jack with you." The objected of Rose's thoughts suggested as he appeared in the doorway of her bedroom.

"What's going on? You never want to visit my mum. In fact the last time we visited mum you compared it to dental surgery without anesthetic performed by an epileptic chimpanzee. "

"And it is, Rose. It's just there's something I need to do and I can't have you there when I do it so I thought maybe you'd want to visit your mum for a bit." The Doctor answered.

"All right. Mum would like it I'm sure and she'll love Jack." Rose agreed hesitantly.

Thoughts of everything being all right as long as the Doctor didn't send her home were still in her head and here he was doing just that. It frightened her a little and worried her more than a little. The only reason she wasn't completely in panic mode yet was because the Doctor had suggested that she take Jack with her. Rose didn't think he was going to ditch Jack on the Powell estates in the twenty-first century. To her way of thinking that meant he wasn't going to ditch her either.

Something must have shown on Rose's face because the Doctor suddenly pulled her into a hug. He held her tightly for a long moment and kissed the top of her head before pulling away far enough to look her in the eye without releasing his hold on her.

"What's wrong, Rose?"

"Nothing, really." Rose hastened to assure him.

The Doctor didn't answer instead he stared at her one eyebrow arched in disbelief.

"It's just you've been kind of strange, for you I mean, for the past couple of days and I was thinking maybe you were trying to find some way to tell me that you want me to go home. Goodbye TARDIS, goodbye London hopping. Hello Powell estates and Jackie Tyler." Rose spoke in a rush an embarrassed flush coloring her features.

"Why would I ask you to leave?"

This time Rose's response was even more rushed and her face had gone from flushed to vivid scarlet.

"Becausethatnightafterdinneroutwekissedandtouchedeachotherandnowyoucan'tlookmeintheeyeanymoreandhavebeenactingodd."

To her surprise and pain the Doctor began to laugh. At first it was a quiet chuckle but then he let go and really started laughing. Rose attempted to pull out of his embrace. Having the Doctor laugh at her was bad enough she didn't want to have to witness it any longer than she had to. In response to her pull his arms tightened and the Doctor looked down into her face all traces of amusement gone.

"I'm sorry Rose. I'm making a muck of this and I know it. You make me feel things that I thought I'd never feel again, things that I thought I didn't deserve to feel again. More than that you make me feel things that I haven't felt before. I'm sorry if you think I've been acting odd for the past few days but I've had a lot on my mind. I'm not about to send you home, Rose Tyler not when I've only just found you. I wanted you to go to Jackie's because I have an errand to run and I can't have you there. I won't tell you why or where but I promise you it will be fantastic. All-right?"

"All-right." Rose agreed happy that she had misread the situation and that he wasn't asking her to leave.

"Come out when you're ready. We're at the Powell estates." The Doctor instructed her letting her go reluctantly.

Before he was fully out the door he turned in her direction again.

"Oh Rose?"

Rose who had turned back toward the bed answered without looking at him.

"What is it, Theta?"

Instead of answering her verbally the Doctor grasped her arm and spun her around to face him. The momentum of the spin had Rose throwing her arms around his neck to maintain her balance. One look at the heat in his eyes and her arms around his neck tightened as she drew herself closer.

The Doctor bent his head and kissed her. It was a hard, passionate, possessive kiss that left both participants breathless when it ended.

"What was that for?" Rose asked when she was sure she could speak without panting.

"Kiss goodbye and all that." The Doctor said evasively.

Rose was sure there was more to it than that. The Doctor may have been able to fool others often but she could read him easily. There was something in his eyes and in his manner that suggested not all was as it appeared. Still if she pressed him on it he'd either deny it or go off in a sulk. She didn't want to deal with either at the moment so she let it go.

"Where's my kiss goodbye? It only seems fair that I get one if I'm leaving as well." Jack said appearing in Rose's doorway.

"Rose kiss him. I haven't been inoculated against flirtatious rouge Time Agents yet." The Doctor instructed her.

"And I have?"

"You dated Mickey The Idiot you should be safe." The Doctor said before walking out of the room.

Rose obediently raised herself on tiptoe and brushed her lips against Jack's in a chaste kiss.

"Which one of us should be insulted by that comment?" Jack asked her once she'd pulled away.

"You know something. I'm not really sure."


	9. Boy Meets Girl

The Dancing We Don't See

Chapter Nine: Boy Meets Girl

Last Time: The Doctor wants to take Rose on the perfect date. Instead of asking her what embodies the perfect date for her he decides to prove he's 'so impressive' and decides to use time travel to discover what the perfect date is for himself.

As this chapter starts the TARDIS and crew are at the Powell Estates.

The Present

"We're here. All right, Jack there's only one rule you need to remember." The Doctor announced as the TARDIS landed at the Powell Estates

"Ask her name before I ask her to play naked games with me and a few dozen new friends?"

The Doctor simply glared in response but the TARDIS rocked sharply under Jack's feet sending the ex-time agent to the floor.

"I told you before, Jack, the TARDIS almost always sides with the Doctor." Rose chided as she helped him off of the floor.

"I'm her favorite." The Doctor said sounding smug. "Now, as I was saying, there's only one rule you need to remember: Consider this like a school field trip-use your inside voice, mind your manners and look but don't touch."

"Yes, Dad."

"None of your cheek or I'll leave you with Bev for the next three decades." The Doctor warned, Jack shaking a patronizing finger in his direction.

"Is that bad?" Jack asked Rose curiously. He'd heard several stories about Jackie from both the Doctor and Rose. He'd also been told several stories about Jimmy but had never heard anything about a Bev.

"Not if you worship the Cenobites." Rose answered cryptically.

Jack was about to ask Rose what she'd meant by that comment when his attention was caught by the two women standing in front of the TARDIS. From her appearance the woman in front could only be Jackie Tyler.

The garishly dressed woman behind her who was continuing to loudly bemoan her date from the night before was most likely Bev, Jack guessed. When Jackie confirmed his guess by telling the woman to "Shut it, Bev, and say hello to Rose," he decided that not worshipping the Cenobites, whatever they were, wasn't such a bad thing.

"Are you off then? We haven't even had tea?" Jackie objected as the Doctor stood to leave. The Doctor barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes and pointing out to Jackie that he had been sitting in the Tyler flat for two hours and that was more than enough time spent with Jackie and Bev tea or no tea. Keeping in mind that he was doing all this for Rose he replied.

"I'm sorry Jackie. I don't mean to be rude but I have an errand I must run."

Turning away from Jackie the Doctor favored Rose with a gentle smile. He didn't speak but she heard his voice whisper across her mind.

"I'll be back soon, my Rose."

Rose stared at him in shock. The Doctor had told her that his people were telepathic but had never exhibited any signs of telepathy before now. Before she could recover enough to ask him why he'd done that the Doctor said goodbye to the room in general and was gone.

Alone in the TARDIS the Doctor set the controls for a journey to the recent past. More specifically he was going on a trip to Rose's past. He wanted to find out what constituted Rose's idea of a perfect date and who better to ask then her younger self.

The Past

"My Lord look at those ears."

At Shireen's sharp exclamation seventeen year old Rose Tyler turned away the window display she'd been studying at looked in the direction that Shireen was pointing.

The man walking toward them was tall and thin. He seemed to be made up of all sharp angles. His ears were a bit on the large side but they suited him. He looked a bit like a military man with his extremely close cropped hair and his attire. There was also an air of menace and power about him that suggested he was a solider of sorts. He looked liked the kind of man you wouldn't want to meet alone in a dark alley, Rose decided with a shiver.

As if he was sensing her train of thought the man stopped walking for a moment and gazed at her directly. Those blue-gray eyes that had added to his air of menace a few moments before softened and Rose quickly revised her opinion of him. She wouldn't mind meeting him alone in a dark alley-he was looking at her as if he would protect her from anything else that might be there.

The look in his eyes was so unexpected that Rose couldn't stop herself from smiling at him. She was rewarded when his eyes softened even more and he gave her a small shy smile in return.

"Someone developing a fancy?" Shireen asked archly as she noticed Rose's smile.

"Shut it."

"What would Mister Jimmy think?" Shireen asked dramatically.

"Shut it, Shireen." Rose snapped.

"I think Mister Jimmy might even want ol' big ears there for himself perhaps you two can work out a schedule." Shireen continued blissfully ignoring Rose's demand for silence and the glares she was sending.

"Oy." Rose protested ready to begin her own tirade on Shireen's current boyfriend.

Rose would have said more but at that moment someone clearing their throat indicated that she and Shireen were no longer alone.

"Excuse me ladies, would you like to take a survey?"


	10. Calling On The Angel Of Music

The Dancing We Don't See

Chapter Ten: Calling On The Angel Of Music

"What kind of a survey?" Shireen asked fully focusing her attention on the man in front of her.

"I'm conducting a survey for Young Miss magazine about the perfect first date." The Doctor answered giving them both a brief glimpse of the psychic paper before placing it back in his jacket pocket.

"A perfect first date, yeah? Well for our Rose here I'd have to say one where she didn't have to pay for chips." Shireen answered with a slight smirk in Rose's direction.

"A perfect first date? Does it have to be in this century or this place?" Rose asked completely ignoring Shireen.

"No. It's the perfect first date so it could be any where or at any time." The Doctor answered hiding a smile. The sense of adventure he adored in his Rose was clearly shared by her younger self.

"All right. My perfect first date would be a midnight picnic on the bank of the lake underneath the Paris Opera house in the year eighteen seventy with the phantom."

"Not the bloody phantom again." Shireen objected.

"My perfect first date, my choice." Rose said defensively.

"He can't be your choice for one thing we're talking about a fictional character and for another if the phantom was a real person they'd have him locked away somewhere. He was a freak and a nutter."

" He may not have been a pretty boy but he had a beautiful soul. Everything he did he did because he loved Christine. She was his light and life when everything else was dark. So yeah, the character's a little odd, more than a bit savage and certifiably insane but that made him all the more appealing. I like a little darkness and danger in my men." Rose said looking over at Shireen as if daring her to argue again.

"Have it your way, Rose. For me the perfect first date would be Christian Bale and a jar of chocolate sauce." Shireen said closing her eyes as she pictured the image.

"Thank you for your help ladies." The Doctor said holding out his hand to first Shireen and then Rose. As each young woman touched him the Doctor used his telepathic abilities to give them both one semi-hypnotic command to forget him. He saw something pass over both of their faces and realized the command had worked. Neither Rose nor Shireen would remember meeting him that day.

After disappearing from their line of sight the Doctor waited until he heard them begin conversing before leaving the area. He had plans to make and an old friend to visit. He was going to give Rose her perfect first date.

Back in the TARDIS he was setting coordinates and telling the ship of his plans as his mind went over all the little things that he would need to make this perfect for his Rose.

"I do have one request, TARDIS. Try not to land on the chandelier. " The Doctor asked as the TARDIS started to dematerialize.

"Erik will skin me alive if he has to take the blame for the destruction of another one."


	11. Down Once More

Chapter Eleven: Down Once More

Disclaimers in earlier chapters

"Hello Doctor it's good to see you again, old friend." Erik greeted

the Doctor as the Gallifreyan stepped into the cool, dimly lit lair.

"Hello Erik, it's good to see you as well. " The Doctor responded

hugging the other man warmly.

"What's her name?" Erik asked suddenly as he led the Doctor deeper

into his lair.

"How do you know there's a woman involved?" The Doctor asked bemused

but not honestly surprised by Erik's question. Erik had always been

frighteningly perceptive.

"Because you've not looked that happy or at peace since long before

Gallifrey was destroyed. It has to be a woman."

"Her name is Rose, Rose Tyler. She's, well she's…" The Doctor paused

trying to think of a word that was adequate to describe his Rose.

"I don't have the words." The Doctor said finally, a gentle smile on

his face as he thought of Rose.

"A woman has left the great Doctor speechless? I should very much like

to meet her."

"That's why I'm here actually."

"She wants to meet me?"

"Yes, Leroux's book is popular in the future."

"I remember. It was the book that convinced me to come to 19th century

Paris and live out my legend." Erik said cutting off the Doctor's

speech.

"Rose loves the story. In fact, a midnight picnic here with you is her

idea of a perfect date. "

"So you want to bring her here for a modified perfect first date." Erik guessed.

"I do." The Doctor began.

"Oy, what do you mean a modified perfect date?" The Doctor asked once

he'd realized what Erik had said.

"It cannot be a perfect date because you are going to be there." Erik

teased him.

"You're evil." The Doctor said mock glaring at him.

"But of course, I am the Phantom."


	12. Who Did You SleepDine With Yesterday?

**Who Did You Sleep... Dine With Yesterday?**

All Disclaimers in first chapter.

TARDJS speech is in italics.

Last Time: The Doctor left Rose and Jack at the Powell Estates and went to visit an old friend to arrange Rose's perfect first date.

Not for the first tine, Rose wanted to smack the Doctor. He'd come back to her Mom's flat nervous and giddy, a rare, bizarre combination even for him. When she'd tried to pull him aside and ask for an explanation he'd told her that she didn't need to worry and that everything was fantastic. It wasn't his answer that worried as much as the way he'd said it. The lost time she'd heard him say anything was fantastic in that tone he'd taken the TARDIS to the planet Norwegianblu where the three of them had encountered an alien creature that had a fondness for humans… Rather had a fondness for eating humans. She didn't think the Doctor was planning on taking them back to Norwegianblu for an encore with the not so purple people eater but couldn't help wondering if what he had planned was going to end up being worse.

Rose wanted to talk to Jack. Usually he was good at helping her figure things out with the Doctor. He may not have been around the Doctor as long as she had but Jack had a knack for reading people that she didn't fully possess. While she wasn't sure that Jack was aware of everything that had gone on between the Doctor and herself he knew enough to be her confidant. Except now, Jack was spending all his time talking with the Doctor and acting like he too was in on this fantastic idea that the Doctor had.

The new situation wasn't all that bad though, Rose realized. After the day Jack had witnessed the Doctor kissing her goodbye before taking her to her Mom's for a visit the Doctor kissed her more often. In the morning, he'd kiss her in greeting; at night he'd kiss her before she went to bed. Bed, at least, where she now slept was another big change.

When they had come back from her Mom's flat Rose had automatically gone to her room to put away some clothes that her mother had insisted that she take with her, It was something she'd done a handful of times and didn't think much about it except this time. The only reason she was thinking about it this time was because her door was gone.

At first Rose thoughts she'd gone down the wrong hallway to get to her room. So she decided to retrace her steps from the control room and try again but once again she ended up in the same place. That's when she realized the TARDIS must be hiding her door. but the question was why? Rose knew the TARDIS had occasionally done the same thing to the Doctor or Jack when they'd done something to upset the old girl but Rose couldn't think of anything she had done to upset the TARDIS.

"What's going on?" Rose asked not really sure she was going to get an answer.

"_I did some redecorating. Go down the hall and turn right. Open the first door you find." _A soft voice almost musical, seemed to fill the air around Rose.

Rose was momentarily surprised at the sound of the voice but quickly smiled as she realized who had to be speaking to her.

"Ta." Rose responded giving the wall a pat before following the TARDIS' directions.

The room she found wasn't one Rose had ever seen before. It had a new feel to it. It felt as if the TARDIS hadn't simply redecorated the room but that she'd created it. The room was larger than her original room on the TARDIS. The wall closest to her seemed to be one long, continuous closet. The wall on the other side of the room had wide windows that showed the view of the stars she had become accustomed to seeing on her travels with the Doctor on one side and the other side showed the faint stars she'd seen from the roof of the Powell Estates.

The bed caught her attention next. To say it was big would be an understatement. It was a huge four poster that looked as if it shouldn't have fit in the room but did. It was the kind of bed she always associated with the rich and had secretly wanted for her own. The bed frame was made of wood, of that Rose was sure, but it was a darker wood than she'd ever seen on Earth and she doubted that darkness had been created by paint from the way the wood shone. When she touched it she was pleasantly surprised to find the wood was soft and very warm to her touch There were shapes carved into the wood that Rose recognized as being the same as some of the shapes on post it notes on the console. Not shapes, she mentally corrected herself symbols. The carvings on the bedposts were Gallifreyan symbols. The bed was covered in what her mother would call a country quilt in a riot of colors and on top of it lay pillows of every color and size. When Rose finally gave into temptation and sat down on the bed she couldn't stop her gasp of pleasure. The mattress was soft, downy and absolutely perfect.

"_Do you like it?"_ The TARDIS asked sounding almost nervous.

"I love it." Rose said emphatically.

"Has he seen it yet?" Rose asked instinctively knowing that this room had been created for the Doctor and herself.

"_No. I wanted to show you first_."

"Thank you." Rose said once again touching a wall. She hadn't thought much about sharing a room with the Doctor even though she wanted to share his bed. Sharing a room seemed more intimate to her but also seemed right.


	13. The First Man You Remember

**The First Man You Remember**

Disclaimer in first chapter.

"Good morning, Rose. Ready for breakfast?"

Rose opened her eyes and blinked sleepily at the sight of the Doctor leaning over her with his customary mad mental patient grin plastered firmly upon his face.

"What have you done, Theta?" Rose asked warily. The Doctor almost never cooked a meal. In fact since she'd been with him she'd done the lion's share of the cooking. Even after Jack had arrived and had taken over some of the meals Rose still did the majority of the cooking. The only time the Doctor cooked was when he needed to apologize for something. So if he was asking if she was ready for breakfast implying that he had made it then he must have done something horrible.

Rose was willing to bet the something horrible had to do with the past two weeks. The Doctor had been even more nervous than before and was jumpy. He'd be talking to Jack and if she entered the room without his being aware of it he'd snap at her for sneaking up on him. Even the TARDIS had changed. She spoke to Rose more but had recently started shutting Rose out of the console room. The TARDIS would apologize and blame it on crossed wires letting Rose into the room a few minutes later. Rose wanted to believe the old girl but then she'd see the Doctor and Jack standing there with guilty expressions and know that something was happening even if she wasn't sure what it was. Now here he was with offers of a breakfast she didn't have to cook. Like anyone who spent more than ten minutes around the Doctor Rose was a little worried.

"Don't you trust me?" The Doctor asked his expression dark as he gave her a mock pout.

"Of course I do. Now what did you break?" Rose asked sliding out of bed and following him out of their bedroom.

When Rose walked into the kitchen she was surprised to see a small bouquet of lilies next to her normal place at the table. She looked at the Doctor first and then Jack for an explanation but was answered with only smiles. Acting on instinct, and betting that Jack wouldn't know lilies were her favorite flower she walked over to the Doctor and gave him a kiss of thanks.

When she started to ask him what she'd done to rate the flower treatment he silenced her with a cryptic. "I just wanted everything to be perfect.

The day went along like that with secretive smiles from the Doctor and Jack until Rose thought she would finally lose her composure and start screaming until someone told her what was going on with her men. Finally, the Doctor told her to go to the TARDIS wardrobe room and pick out something to wear that was appropriate for Europe in the 1880's. When she started to ask where specifically in Europe they were he shooed her away telling her to hurry or that they would be late.

Rose eventually found a dress and after slipping into it and shoes graciously provided by the TARDIS she went to find the Doctor and Jack. She wondered if the Doctor would be pleasantly surprised when he realized she was wearing the same dress she'd worn the night he called her beautiful for a human. Instead she was the one in for a surprise. When she walked into the console room she discovered the Doctor was wearing a tuxedo. He still had on his Doc Martins she was amused to note but his ever present jacket, jumper and jeans were gone. The Doctor looked at her expectantly but Rose was stunned into silence.

"I think she likes it." Jack joked as Rose's silence continued.

Rose looked over at him to say thank you and noticed unlike the Doctor and herself Jack was dressed in casual clothing. As if reading her thoughts Jack answered her.

"As much as I'd love to join in if for nothing other than the shock value I'm staying here this time."

"Are you ready?" The Doctor asked holding out his hand for her own and interrupting her thoughts.

"Always." Rose replied giving him a smile.

"Wait!" Jack's voice was sharp and Rose automatically froze. A few minutes later the world around her went dark as he tied something over her eyes.

"Now you're ready." Jack told her a few seconds before she could feel the Doctor leading her out of the TARDIS.

The first thing Rose noticed when they stepped outside of the TARDIS was that the air seemed chilly and there was a feeling she couldn't shake like she was in a basement or otherwise underground. She could hear water around her and that confused her even more. Had the Doctor taken her to some underground lake? If so why had he let Jack blindfold her? Deciding the only way to find out was to ask she spoke.

"Theta?"

"It's fine Rose. Hold still for a moment." As he spoke Rose felt herself lifted off the ground by two very strong, very familiar arms, locked around her waist. Then she was standing on a floor that was rocking below her feet. Reaching behind her Rose felt around for something to help her keep her balance on the rocking floor. She found a bench and sat herself gingerly on it. Seconds later she felt the Doctor sitting down next to her. As the rocking beneath her feet intensified Rose asked.

"Theta, are we on a boat?"

"Indeed you are, mademoiselle. It is the only way for visitors to reach my home." A smooth voice with a thick French accent answered. As the mystery man spoke The Doctor removed her blindfold. After her eyes adjusted Rose took in the sight of the thousands of candles dotting the other shore. It couldn't be? Could it? Rose wondered to herself. While her mind was racing with new thoughts her eyes traveled over the man who had spoken. He was tall, thin and wore a cloth mask that covered most of his face.

"Good evening mademoiselle. I am Erik, welcome to my home."

She was in the lair of the phantom of the Paris opera house. Looking over Erik's shoulder she saw a picnic laid out for two. This was her perfect date. She turned slightly to look at the Doctor and saw that he was giving her his rarely seen, soft, tender smile.

"I can't give you guarantees of safety, or tomorrow or anything like that as much as I want to do so. I can give you this. Come with me?" The Doctor held his hand out to her.

"Always." Rose agreed with a smile as she let him lead her to the perfect first date and and an even more perfect life.

The End

Thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed.


End file.
